1. Field of the Invention
Applicant""s invention relates to a commode shutoff device to prevent commode overflows.
2. Background Information
In order to understand the importance of the present invention, it is necessary to review the basics of how a commode works. In general a commode consists of a bowl and a tank. The critical mechanism molded into the bowl is the bowl siphon. The water level within the bowl is kept at the same level as within the siphon tube. When a small amount of water is put into the bowl, it will spill over the edge of the siphon tube and drain away. When a large amount of water is poured into the bowl all at once, it causes the bowl to flush. As soon as the bowl is emptied, air enters the siphon tube and stops the siphoning process.
The tank allows a large amount of water to be held until needed to activate the siphon. Activation of the siphon with the flush is initiated with the flush handle. The flush handle is typically attached to a rod which has at its end a chain. This chain is typically attached at its other end to a flush valve which covers a large drain hole. When the user pushes down on the flush handle, the opposite end of the rod is pulled up pulling the chain and the flush valve with it. Once the flush valve is removed, the water from the tank flows through the drain hole into the bowl. The water is then forced through the siphon.
Once the tank is completely drained the flush valve reseats itself into the drain hole. This allows the tank to be refilled. When the water drained out the fill float dropped with the water level. When this fill float falls it activates the fill valve which turns the water on for refilling the tank and bowl. When refilling the tank, some of the water goes down the fill tube. The rest of the water goes through the fill tube and down the overflow tube into the bowl. The fill float rises in the tank as the water level rises until eventually the fill valve shuts off.
In theory the overflow tube is in place to prevent overflow of water from the tank onto the floor if something goes wrong with the fill valve or float. Instead the water is directed into the bowl. This diversion can cause problems as well since the bowl itself can overflow the water onto the floor. The present invention is designed to prevent this overflow of water from occurring by providing for a device that shuts off the commode.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel commode shutoff device.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a novel commode shutoff device that has a diverter housing, a diverter valve situated within the diverter housing, a diverter arm, a means for actuating the diverter arm, a support bracket, and an alternate water line.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a novel commode shutoff device that redirects water from the overflow water line to the alternate water line by actuation of a diverter arm through manually pulling up on the flush handle of the tank.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel commode shutoff device that redirects water so that it no longer flows into the bowl, thus preventing overflow.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a novel method for shutting off a commode.
An additional object of the present invention is to provide a novel method for shutting off a commode by pulling up on the flush handle.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a novel method for shutting off a commode wherein when the flush handle is pulled upward, trip lever within tank is forced down onto the diverter arm.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a novel method for shutting off a commode wherein when the diverter arm is forced down, the diverter valve is rotated.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel method for shutting off a commode wherein when the diverter valve is rotated, water is redirected from the overflow water line within the tank to an alternate water line of the invention.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a novel method for shutting off a commode wherein when the water is redirected to alternate water line, the water is forced onto flush valve.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a novel method for shutting off a commode wherein the flush valve is forced closed by the redirected water.
In satisfaction of these and related objectives, Applicant""s present invention provides a way of manually shutting off a commode to prevent overflow. This manual shut off allows a user to pull upward on the flush handle to induce shut off. The action of pulling upward on the flush handle causes the internal trip lever to be forced down onto the diverter arm of the present invention. When the diverter arm is actuated in this manner, it rotates a diverter valve located within a diverter housing. This rotation redirects water from the overflow water line, which would occur in normal operation, to an alternate water line. This diversion to the alternate water line not only prevents water from flowing into the bowl through the overflow water line, but also forces water is onto the flush valve closing it.